1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printer for printing characters and/or graphic images on a printing sheet and, more particularly, to the printer which saves the desktop space.
2. Description of the Related Art
Accompanied with recent trend of popularized multi-media, in particular, personal computers that have been widely used not only for the office but also for home, the printer, one of peripheral devices for the personal computer, has been increasingly used as the output device. In conjunction with wide use of the personal computers, the printer has been used for various purposes to satisfy various demands.
As the printers have been remarkably improved in terms of colorization, high resolution, multi-function, high operation speed and quality, the use of large-sized and expensive printers have become mainstream. Therefore the aforementioned high-performance, multi-functional printer has been shared by a plurality of users through a network or the like.
Meanwhile a printer for personal use has still been highly demanded. As it is often the case that the printer linked with a plurality of personal computers is not located close to users, they have to get out of their seat to take the print output from the printer. Moreover, since the printer is shared by a plurality of users, the printing result can not be obtained immediately. Thus, each user cannot use the printer as freely as desired, resulting in deteriorated operating efficiency on a personal level. As a result, it may be difficult to print small-sized data such as personal memos on demand.
Compact printers providing high-quality printing have been commercially available for individual users. However, the printing sheet of size A4 or larger are used for such compact printers as in the case of the printer shared by users. Furthermore most of the printers which have been currently in wide use are laser printers or ink-jet printers. The above-type printer incorporates a large number of components, thus unavoidably enlarging the assembly size. Therefore it is difficult to further realize size reduction. For this, relatively a large and level space for the printer has to be reserved in addition to the space for the personal computer.
When users want to print the image, e-mail or the like instantly, most of them may feel reluctance to use the printer which occupies the space as large as that for the personal computer to narrow the desktop space in the office or home. Meanwhile, general personal use printers in the market are provided with multi-functions, and therefore, are expensive and not affordable.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive printer which occupies only a small desktop space. It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer which can be readily used by an individual user just like scratching a few lines on a memo pad.
A printer according to the present invention includes a flat case having substantially a flat top surface in which a printing mechanism and a sheet storage portion capable of accommodating a plurality of printing sheets of standardized size are housed so as to be arranged along the top surface of the case. The printer further includes an exit slot formed in the top surface of the case for feeding out the printed sheet. In the printer of the present invention, the sheet storage portion and the printing mechanism are arranged so as almost not to be overlapped with each other, resulting in substantially a thin printer as a whole. The printed sheet is fed out onto the flat top surface of the case such that the resultant print on the thin and compact printer can be used as a memo/scratch pad or a notebook.
The printer of the present invention has various advantages as described below. That is, the printing mechanism incorporates a pick-up roller capable of picking up a thermal printing sheet from the sheet storage portion, a platen roller capable of feeding the thermal sheet, and a thermal head capable of printing on the thermal sheet. Therefore unlike ink jet printers, the printer of the present invention requires no expendable supplies such as toner or ink. Accordingly this printer can save the space for accommodating such expendable or consumable supplies, leading to the small and thin printing mechanism. As a result, the case incorporating the printing mechanism and the sheet storage portion can be formed into substantially a very thin structure. As the thermal sheet is thin, the sheet feeding direction can be readily changed. Therefore the platen roller having a small diameter can be used to allow an arrangement of the path on which the sheet is fed out from the top surface even in a limited space. Furthermore, the use of the thermal sheet may eliminate the need and space for replacement of the expendable supplies.
Moreover, the printer of the present invention uses the printing sheet of standardized size, which has been cut into a given size in place of the roll-type paper. Accordingly, the printing sheet can be accommodated in the thinner sheet storage portion as compared with that of the printer using the roll-type paper. This makes it possible to form the case into substantially a thin structure. In other words, unlike the conventional compact thermal-type printers using roll-type thermal paper, the printer of the present invention uses cut thermal sheets of standard size. Therefore, the printer of the present invention can be formed into a very thin and compact structure. Moreover, according to the printer of the present invention, printing sheet is fed piece by piece. Therefore, a sheet feeding mechanism does not have to be accurate as that of the conventional compact printer using the roll-type paper. As a result, the present invention realizes an inexpensive, highly reliable printer which hardly causes paper jam.
Moreover, since the printed sheet is fed out onto the top surface, the flat top surface of the case can be utilized as a tray on which the fed printed sheet is placed. The printer feeds out the printed sheet with its printed surface upside such that the user can confirm the printing result immediately. Then the user is allowed to scratch a few lines on the fed print placed on the top flat surface of the printer just like writing down memos on the notebook. As described above, the printer of the present invention using the thermal sheet can be formed into a thin structure as a desktop printer just like a notebook or a memo pad.
The sheet storage portion has a size suitable for accommodating the printing sheet of size A6 or B7, which can form the printer to be as small as a memo pad or a pencil case, thus saving the desktop space.
In the printer of the present invention, the print is fed out onto the top surface of the case, which will not allow any device to be placed thereon. As a result, at least a part of the top surface of the case can be opened and closed as a cover of the sheet storage portion, thus allowing easy supply of the printing sheets.